AG files suit against loan modification firm - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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The case filed Monday in Maricopa Superiodr Court alleges that LLC and its two Thomas J. Montoya and Robert Sanchez, advertised and promoted the firm as havingt an affiliation withthe U.S. Departmentg of Housing and Urban Development, which it does not, accordin to the filing. But Montoya, in a phone conversation with the PhoenixcBusiness Journal, said he was “taken by the charges. He would not elaborate on any ofthe charges, and said he was talkint with the company’s attorneys. He said the company would distributd a prepared statement after consultinfwith attorneys. As part of the the AG alleges thatSantoys Financial, located at 2225 W.
Whisperinh Spring Drive in Phoenix, charged fees for servicez that consumers could access directlufor free. “The defendants deceptively implied to consumersz that any fees paid by consumerx for loan modification services with Santoyz Financial are refundable because the modificatioj program is backby HUD, without disclosing that Santoy a Financial’s services are not in any way endorsed or approvecd by HUD and that consumers can obtain assistance from HUD in applyingb for and obtaining loan modifications without payinyg any fee whatsoever,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint requestz that the court enjoin Santoya Financial from continuinvits “unlawful acts,” order the company to pay back any mone y received from those and the defendants to pay civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violatioh and costs of the investigation. Accordingy to court records, Santoya Financial began advertisinv loan modification services in March to consumersd who were facing foreclosure on their Sanchez was featured on a Phoenix televisionj station in April and allegedly represented that his firmwas “workinf with HUD while providing loan modification services to the lawsuit stated.
Santoya charged consumers $1,199 plus the equivalenf of one month’s mortgage payment, the lawsuitt asserts. Santoya also representeds during phone solicitations that fees collected for loan modifications woulr be donated to an organizationn named Partners in but “the fees consumers pay for the loan modificatiojn services advertised by Santoya Financial do not go to Partnersd in Charity or any othere charitable organization,” the lawsuit further alleged. The lawsuity also claims that Santoya did not obtain the necessargy surety bond required by the Arizonsa CreditServices Act.